取暖 (qǔ nuǎn) — to keep warm; to warm oneself | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

取暖 focuses on warming oneself (especially by a fire or heater) — more personal than 供暖 (which is a building system). Compare 保暖 ('keep warm' for clothing/gear).

verb

to keep warmto warm oneself

Examples

，取暖。
Dōng tiān de shí hou, hěn duō rén dōu kào nuǎn qì qǔ nuǎn.
In winter, many people rely on heating to keep warm.
，。
Wū wài tài lěng le, wǒ men xiān qǔ le nuǎn zài chū qù.
It's too cold outside; let's warm ourselves up before going out.
。
Kuài lái huǒ biān qǔ qǔ nuǎn ba.
Come over by the fire to get warm.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

取 “get” and 暖 “warmth” mean “get warmth,” hence to warm oneself.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

耳又取

耳耳ěrear
又又yòuhand

取 pairs 又 (hand) with 耳 (ear), showing a hand taking an ear, as in taking the ear of fallen prey.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

日爰暖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

爰

爰yuán暖nuǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

暖 is made from 日, the sun, and 爰, which is used for its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Daily Routine

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